Float-controlled balance-valve.



.APPLIOATON FILED MAB.. 21, 1907.

Patented Dec. 8, 1908.

.r1 r H CHARLES BROSSMANN, 0F INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

FLoA'rcoNTnoLLEn BALANCE-vane. 'l

To alll whom 'it may .concer/n: n

Be' it known that I, CHARLES BRossMANN, of Indianapolis', county' of Marion', and State of Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Float-Controlled Balance-Valve; and

I d o hereby declare that1 the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawinds, in which like letters referto like parts.

y invention relates to improvement in automatic valves or traps, for steam systems or heating systems and particularly to valves for automatically'discha'rging condensed water from radiators of heating systems operating under pressure near or below atmospheric pressure. y I

One feature of my inventionis the use of a balanced'valve for discharging thecoiidensed water, the action. o f lsuch a valve making the operation of the trap positive and reliable.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section on the line 1`1 of Fig. 3, rshowing the valve in a closed position ;.Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the 1ine1-1 of Fig. 3, showing the valve in its 'open position; Fig. 3, is a horizontal section on the 'line 3-3 of Fi 1.

Fig. 4, is a longitudinal section of the va ve;

and Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5`-5 of Fig. 2, showing the valve removed. Fig. 6 is a modified form Aof piston and stem.

In detail the device consists of a. casing 11, having four threaded openings. The openin 12 is threaded for connection with the ra iator or other receptacle containing steam. The opening 13 is threaded to receive the discharge pipe for the condensed water. The other openings'are at the top and are closed by the caps 14 and 15 and are for the purpose -of rendering the interior accessible. for assembling the trap. i

Inside the casing there is a float 16 rigid on the lever 17./ Said lever is slotted at 18 `for the purpose of assembling thetrap and loosely7 ulcruming on the post 19. The cap 15 has a cylinder-like chamber 2O bored to fit more or less accurately the piston 21. p

The-balanced valve shown in section at Fig. 5 comprises a. stem 22 havingnear its center an \annular groove 23 while. at its lower end there is a bevel seat valve 24.V The upper end of the valve stem 22 is externally,y

threaded to screw into thepiston 21. A hole 25 is provided through the stem 22 'and piston 21 forming a connection between the chamber 20 and the discharge outlets 13.

Specification o! Letters Pat-ent. Application mea umn ai, 1907. sei-iai No. 363,551.

higlienough to discharge the water Patented Dee. s, 190s.

' The piston 21 isfpreferably made of amate.-

rialdifering in expansion from the cap 15 vand while cool there is left between the two slight space for the passage of air from the chamber 12 to the chamber 20. The cap projects into the outside air therefore, after the air has escaped the steam expands the piston relatively to the cap and thus the escape of the steam is prevented. Thecasing 11 has in its lower part and directly above the out- `let 13 a valve seat 26 accurately ground to fit the bevel valve 211, making the 'joint between them tight when the stem 422 is in its closed position. The slot 18 is provided in order that the lever 17 may be placed in the annular groove 23l so that a movement of the float 16 will raise the valve24 vertically from the seat 26.-

. The operation of the trap is as follows: Steam is turned into the radiator or other receptacle. Such a .radiator contains more or less air which immediately begins to dischar e from the radiator into the trap, escaping om the trap between the piston 21 and the sides ofthe chamber 20, until all the air has escaped. In the meantime the` steam has been condensed-inthe radiator and the trap has been partly filled with water 27, as shown in Fig. 1. As soon as the water 27 has reached a level sufliciently high to lift the l float 16,the lever 17 raises the stem 22, and the valve 24 is lifted from the seat 26. The o'at 16` will continue to rise until it has reached the position where the valve 2/1 is 27 as fast as it .condenses in the radiator.` This position is indicated in Fig. 2. After the air has all escaped from the radiator the piston 21 expands with the heat of the steam with which it is in contact and more accurately ts the chamber 20, reducing the loss by leakage to a minimum. The steam condensing around the piston fills the grooves' 28 therein with water, thus forming a waterpacking and still further reducing the leakage around the piston. In case of the. piston 21 and the cap 15 being made of the same material, the grooves 28 are depended upon entirely to reduce the leakage.

When the valve is made in large sizes, spring packing rings can be substituted 'for the grooves. The cap 15 is rovided with radiat-ingribs 29 on the sides, thus insuring The cap 15 being thus kept 'cooler than piston 2l, the expansion will be less in the cap and the piston will tit closer after steam has passed around the piston and condensed.

The piston 2l is made of approximately the same size as the valve 24:, by which means the valve may be exactly balanced, so that no power is necessary to operate the valve other than is required to raise the weight of the valve and float. By slightly increasing the area of the piston 2l, the weights of the valve and float may be overcome by the pressure in the trap pressing on thebottom of the piston 21. Vln case the valve is used in a pressure system, or in case of the system operating under a vacuum, the same thing will result from the steam or air being partly exhausted from the chamber 20. Y

In Fig. 6 there is shown a modified form of the lunger valve-and stem that is controlled )by the float. All three of said parts are made integral in this form.

What I claim as my invention and desire' to secure my Letters Patent is:

l. The combination of a casing with an inlet to receive air and condensation water and an Aoutlet therefor and a condensation chamber over the outlet exposed to the eX- ternal atmosphere, a vertically operative valve for closing said outlet, a piston operatively connected with said valve and fitting' loosely.in sald condensing chamber so there will be an air outlet passage-way past .said pison adapted to be sealed by steam" condensation and provided with a verticalv passage-way therethrough, and a float for actuating said valve and piston that is controlled by the accumulation of water 1n sald casing.

2. The combination of a casing with an inlet tube to receive steam, air and condensation Water and an outlet for the water, a balanced valve mechanism including a piston externally located always above the water in said casing, a cap in which said piston fits so as to form a chamber in said cap at `one end of said piston that is of lower pressure than the chamber at the other end of the piston, whereby the cap and piston will be subjected to different temperatures and degrees ot' expansion to form an air passageway when the piston is cool and to close it when the piston is warm, and a float for actuating said valve mechanism.

3. The combination of a casing with an inlet tube to receive steam, air and condensation water and an outlet for the water, a balanced valve mechanism including a peripherally grooved piston externally located always above the water in said casing, a cap in which said piston fits so as to form a chamber in said cap at one end of said piston that is of lower pressure than the chamber at the other end of the piston, whereby the cap and piston will be subjected to different temperatures and degrees of expansion to form an air passageway when the piston is cool and to close it when the piston is warm, and a float for actuating vsaid valve mechanism.

4. The combination of a casing with an inlet tube to receive steam, air and condensation water and an outlet for the water, a balanced valve mechanism includingr a peripherally grooved piston externally located and always above the water in said casing, a

. peripherally ribbedY cap in which said piston fits soas to form a chamber in said cap at one endA of said piston that is of lower V'pressnrethanthe chamber at the other end of the piston', whereby the cap and piston will .be subjected to diiierent temperatures and degrees of expansion to form an air passage way whenthe pistonis cool and to close' it whenthlpistonisvwarm, and a float. for

actu-ating saidlvalve mechanism.

'Inlwitness whereof`y` T have hereunto affixed-v. my signature in the presence of the witnesses hereinnamed.r

` aCHARLES BROSSMANF.

'. '[NJALLEMONG, i 5" OnrvsV lBlnnnnx. 

